Bay, rye and hazelnut loaf cake with poached rhubarb

Name: Bay, rye and hazelnut loaf cake with poached rhubarb
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: British recipes
Ingredients: 150g self-raising flour; 100g rye flour; ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda; 1 tsp baking powder; 150g blanched hazelnuts, roughly chopped; 180g salted butter, softened; 180g golden caster sugar; 10 fresh bay leaves, 7 very finely chopped, 3 left whole; 3 medium eggs, whisked; 75g greek yogurt; 2 tbsp whole milk; 1 tbsp demerara sugar; Crème fraîche to serve; For the rhubarb; 250g caster sugar; 1 large orange; 400g forced rhubarb, cut into 3cm batons; Specialist kit; 900g loaf tin

Portion size: Serves 8
Prep time 25 min, plus at least 4 hours marinating. Cook time 1 hour, plus 15 min cooling
Difficulty: easy

Freezable

Vegetarian

Kathy Slack

Food writer, grower and cook

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Kathy Slack’s rustic hazelnut loaf cake is as welcome for dessert as it is with a cuppa. Bay adds a floral note, while serving the bake with poached rhubarb and crème fraîche turns it into a delightful late-winter pudding.

In the mood for a savoury bake? Try Kathy’s leek bread and butter pudding.

Kathy is a food writer who has become renowned for her love of vegetables. Not only does she grow them in her garden but she also creates recipes and hosts monthly supper clubs from the harvests, as well as teaching cookery classes. Read her Substack, Tales From The Veg Patch, or follow her on Instagram @gluts_gluttony

Before you start

Don’t waste it The poaching syrup from the rhubarb is delicious as a cordial or mixed into a gin and tonic or glass of prosecco. It will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a week or the freezer for 3 months.

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Ingredients

150g self-raising flour
100g rye flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
150g blanched hazelnuts, roughly chopped
180g salted butter, softened
180g golden caster sugar
10 fresh bay leaves, 7 very finely chopped, 3 left whole
3 medium eggs, whisked
75g greek yogurt
2 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp demerara sugar
Crème fraîche to serve

For the rhubarb

250g caster sugar
1 large orange
400g forced rhubarb, cut into 3cm batons

Specialist kit

900g loaf tin

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Method

Start with the rhubarb. Find a wide shallow pan for which you have a lid (a deep-sided frying pan is ideal). Pour the sugar and 300ml cold water into the pan. Use a peeler to peel the zest from the orange and add this to the pan, then halve the orange and squeeze the juice into the mixture as well. Set over a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Turn off the heat as soon as it begins to boil.
Add the rhubarb batons to the hot syrup, arranging them so they sit in a single layer. Cover with a lid and leave overnight or for 4 hours at a minimum. The warm liquid will very gently cook the rhubarb so it becomes soft without losing its shape. It will also, magically, become pinker.
Now for the cake. Line the loaf tin with baking paper and heat the oven to 195°C/175°C fan/gas 5½.
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Put the flours, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder in a bowl and stir together. Whizz half the hazelnuts in a herb chopper or the small bowl of a food processor until they resemble coarse sand. (Take care not to over process or they’ll turn greasy and claggy.) Add the ground hazelnuts to the flour bowl. This is your dry mix.
In another bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and finely chopped bay leaves until light and fluffy. Gradually add the whisked eggs, beating thoroughly before adding the next glug. If you fear this mixture might curdle, add a spoonful of the dry mix with each glug of egg.
Fold the rest of the dry mix into the buttery bowl. Stir in the yogurt and milk to loosen the batter, then spoon the batter into the prepared loaf tin and smooth out the top. Press the whole bay leaves into the top and sprinkle over the remaining chopped hazelnuts and the demerara sugar.
Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when pushed into the centre. Leave in the tin for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Serve in slices with a spoon of drained poached rhubarb see Don’t Waste It) and a good dollop of crème fraîche.